Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam and wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan set multiple records by putting on a 152-run stand at the top of the order in a ten-wicket victory over archrival India.
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Mohammad Rizwan contributed the most to the partnership, scoring 79 runs off 55 balls. With his clean hitting, he took the game away from the opposition, hitting 6 fours and 3 sixes in his innings. Babar, on the other hand, scored 68 runs off 52 deliveries, including six fours and two sixes.
The 152-run opening stand between the two batters is the highest in T20 cricket against India. They broke the record previously held by Australian duo David Warner and Shane Watson for the highest partnership against India. In the 2012 T20 World Cup, Warner and Watson put on an opening stand of 133 runs as England defeated India by 9 wickets. The 152-run opening stand between Babar and Rizwan is also the highest in T20 World Cup history. The previous highest opening partnership record was held by Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith, a West Indian opening duo. In the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007, they scored 145 runs for the first wicket against South Africa.
The Pakistani duo’s outstanding partnership is also the second-highest for any wicket in T20 World Cups. Former Sri Lankan legends Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara hold the record for the highest partnership for any wicket. In the 2010 T20 World Cup, they scored 166 runs for the second wicket against the West Indies.
This was also Babar and Rizwan’s fourth T20I century partnership. The only other pairs with four-century partnerships in T20I cricket are India’s Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill. Sharma and Dhawan have four-century stands in 52 innings, Williamson and Guptill have four-century stands in 27 innings, and Babar and Rizwan have four-century stands in 16 innings.
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